CELTICS NOTEBOOK: Stoudemire may miss Game 4 with back ailment

Knicks forward Amar’e Stoudemire was ineffective in Game 3 against the Celtics and said the back injury has not improved.

Jim Fenton

The New York Knicks may be without two of their top three players when they try to avoid being swept by the Boston Celtics.

Point guard Chauncey Billups (strained left knee) is listed as doubtful and is expected to sit out a third straight game this afternoon at Madison Square Garden, and forward Amar’e Stoudemire (pulled back muscle) may join him on the sideline.

The Celtics will be attempting to eliminate the Knicks in four straight games this afternoon.

Stoudemire, who injured his back on a dunk in warm-ups before Game 2 last Tuesday night, was unable to do much during 32 minutes in Game 3 on Friday night.

He was clearly having trouble moving and made just 2 of 8 shots while getting seven points and three rebounds.

Following practice on Saturday afternoon in Greenburgh, N.Y., Stoudemire told reporters that he is considering not playing in Game 4 because the back is worse than it was heading into Game 3.

“You can always further an injury,’’ Stoudemire was quoted in the New York Post. “There’s a chance of straining it more. There’s a chance of overcompensation and having another injury.

“It’s definitely a risk playing with a strained back. I’m not sure I’m going to take that risk right now. The future here with the Knicks’ organization is very bright and you don’t want to hinder that by doing too much right now in the back.

“I just want to make a smart decision here for (today’s) game and see how I feel and see how it goes. It has to be better. I knew (Friday) night I wasn’t 100 percent. I wasn’t 50 percent. I was pretty much in pain the whole game.’’

The Celtics, meanwhile, won’t be using Shaquille O’Neal in Game 4 as he continues to be sidelined with a strained calf muscle and inflamed Achilles.

O’Neal took part in the Celtics’ walk-through at the Garden on Saturday afternoon. With the Celtics holding a 3-0 lead, it makes no sense to use O’Neal against the Knicks.

Clean sweeps: The Celtics have swept only four best-of-seven series in franchise history, the last one occurring 25 years ago.

In the 1986 Eastern Conference finals, the Celtics took out the Milwaukee Bucks in four straight games before winning the team’s 16th championship against the Houston Rockets.

Before that, the Celtics swept a pair of opening-round series from the Chicago Bulls (1981) and the Rockets (1980) and went 4-0 in the 1959 championship series against the Minneapolis Lakers.

Rare combination: In Game 3, Paul Pierce (38) and Ray Allen (32) became the first pair of Celtics to exceed 30 points in the same playoff game in nine years.

The last time it happened was May 27, 2002 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against the New Jersey Nets when Pierce had 31 points and Antoine Walker scored 30 in a 94-92 loss.

Pierce has scored more than 30 points in 14 postseason games with his career high being 46 against the Philadelphia 76ers in 2002. The 38 points were the most he’s registered since Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Allen, who was 8-for-11 from behind the arc, is the only play in league history to hit at least eight 3-pointers in more than one playoff game. He has accomplished that four times, including three with the Celtics.

Last year, Allen was 8-for-11 in Game 2 against the Lakers and he was 9-for-18 in Game 6 against the Bulls in 2009. As a member of the Milwaukee Bucks in 2001, Allen was 9-for-13 in Game 6 against the 76ers.

Triple for Rondo: Point guard Rajon Rondo, who had 15 points, a team playoff record 20 assists and 11 rebounds in Game 3, now has six postseason triple-doubles.

Larry Bird has the franchise record with 10 triple-doubles in the playoffs while Pierce and Dennis Johnson have the other two recorded by Celtics’ players.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Rondo is only the seventh player in NBA history with at least six triple-doubles. The list is topped by Magic Johnson (30) followed by Jason Kidd (11), Bird, Wilt Chamberlain (nine) and Oscar Robertson (eight). Rondo had been tied with LeBron James at six.

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